The Search For Yule
by Sirup The Rising
Summary: Natsu is an ordinary boy who stopped believing in Santa and flying reindeers years ago. Gray is a spirit of winter tasked with overseeing Magnolia Town. When the Yule Spirit suddenly vanishes in his area, Natsu and Gray band together to learn the truth of the disappearance of the Spirit... and hopefully save Christmas from drowning in darkness from an ancient evil.
1. Prologue: The Winter Task

_**A/N:** Wheeee~ A Christmas story~  
I'm still kind of stuck with "Legacy of the Fairies", so updates for it will probably be a bit less frequent for a while. Instead I have two stories for Christmas and each of them will have a new chapter up **each day **if things go as I have planned |D This is the first one. It's pretty much full-out adventure and not so much romance. I find it hard to ship Natsu and Gray xDD And a small shoutout to my awesome friend **Sabichan93 **for sharing her idea for a "Christmas calendar" story~ You should read hers too~ I know I will 3  
The other one will be a more "romantic" Durarara! fanfic. At least that's the plan xD Well, without further ado, here is the prologue. The next update will be on December 1st, so stay tuned for more of this Christmas story._

* * *

_December. An entire month of anticipation and excitement. It is a time of joy and laughter. Children playing in the snow, couples holding hands as they stare at decorated pine trees and families getting together to celebrate this very special time that come around only once a year._

Tiny flakes of snow were already falling down over the small town, one of them in front of a young black-haired man standing by a dark shop window filled with little figures clad in green and red. Blowing at the snowflake, he watched how it danced around in front of him, weaving in and out between the rest of the flakes until it fell to the ground on top of a very thin blanket of white. Winter had come early this year.

Moving his gaze towards the sky, he stared at the bright crescent moon. It was already close to midnight. The last of the autumn months would soon come to an end, allowing winter to fully take its place. Shrugging, he pushed up his dark blue scarf. While he did not at all feel cold, it would look strange if he stood around outside in the snowy weather with only little clothes on. Why was that bastard keeping him waiting for so long?

A slight breeze caught his attention. It seemed he did not have to wait any longer. With a sour look, he turned to face the person he had been waiting for.

"Took you long enough."

The newly arrived, a white-haired male, did not even give a single glance before he whipped out a piece of paper from underneath his coat and handed it over. Without question, the other snatched it away.

"They're still barking out orders like this? Sheesh, this is seriously old-fashioned," ´the dark-haired boy noted. "Why not change over to cellphones or something? It looks easier and _way_ more convenient than sending out _errand boys_."

"Shut it." The white-haired man gave him a short, spiteful glare and chinned towards the paper. "At least I'm not going to be stuck in some backwater village all winter. I believe _handing out orders_ from the higher-ups is just _slightly _more respectable than your lousy jobs."

"_WHAT?!_" Quickly skimming over the intricate writing, the first boy nearly dropped his jaw. "They're shipping me off to _where?_ Why the hell do I have to be stuck with overseeing some silly little town _again?! _I'm pretty sure you got the address wrong."

"And I'm pretty sure you need to shut your mouth and suck it up." Turning his back on the other, the white-haired male began to walk away. "Maybe you'll get better winter tasks once you learn to keep quiet and follow orders." He let out a taunting snicker. "Can't say anyone back home is all that fond of you, Fullbuster."

Silently the black-haired boy cursed the other as he slowly disappeared into the night. What was his deal, putting him down like that? He was most certainly the biggest asshole he had _ever_ had the _pleasure_ of being acquainted with. Unamused, he took another look at the piece of paper with orders he had been handed. _Magnolia Town_. If he remembered correctly, it was not too far from where he was, just a bit further out… in the _countryside_. _Urgh_.

As he began walking away, a swiftly moving bicycle passed him, drenching him in water from a small puddle of melted snow it went through it. Throwing an evil glare at the rider, a lightly dressed young boy, he whispered under his own breath.

"Well, bless you and merry _goddamn_ _Christmas_. What a wonderful merry time it'll be."


	2. December 1st: Their Fated Meeting

_**A/N:** MERRY DECEMBER 1st~ Now there are only **23** days until Christmas |D Isn't it wonderful? And I can't believe it's already snowing outside here! THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS HERE!  
_Anyway, the story |D This is the first chapter which I'll be using to introduce some of the characters. Also, I hope no one minds I made Happy human xDD I remember seeing a drawing of human Happy once and I LOVED it xDD He's also a bit older than in the series (6 a bit too young) but it's not going to make much of a difference. There will be more characters from the series so just wait and see~

* * *

The sun had not yet risen to a point where it would illuminate the small town of Magnolia, let alone warm it up, even if just a little. Snow was already covering the ground in a fine layer of pure white and the frost was glistening on branches in the cold morning air.

Shivering under his blankets, Natsu silently wished for the weather outside to not be as freezing as it appeared. Winter had only just begun and he was already missing the warmth of summer.

"Natsu! Wake up, wake up!" A loud voice pierced the silence as his younger roommate came bouncing into his bed. "Do you know what day it is today? Well, do you?"

With a tired growl, Natsu flipped onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow to shut out the visibly excited blue-haired child. It had no effect whatsoever.

"It's December!" The boy pulled off Natsu's blankets in the blink of an eye, leaving the older male exposed to the cold of the room. "That means it'll be Christmas soon! There's even snow outside! Isn't it great? We should go play in it!"

"I think I'll pass, Happy," Natsu groaned, curling up in a tiny ball to preserve as much of his body heat as he possibly could. "Pass me my blanket and let me sleep a little longer, will ya?"

"Natsu!" Happy whined, shaking his roommate to wake him up. "You'll be late. You're supposed to be there in half an hour. Erza will get angry with you _again_."

Grimacing, Natsu sat up in the bed, running a hand through his messy pink hair. Having Erza at his neck from the morning was not exactly an appealing thought. He threw a glance at Happy, who was grinning widely.

"Alright. I'll get ready and then we'll leave for school, 'kay?"

"Okay!" Happy exclaimed, still smiling while waiting for Natsu to get dressed. How the young boy managed to always be so full of energy was a mystery to Natsu.

Putting on the white shirt and grey trousers with a matching grey jacket, all part of his own school uniform, Natsu ran his hand through his hair several times in front of the mirror. Once satisfied with his appearance, he returned to Happy.

"I'm all set," he grinned, giving his roommate a thumbs-up. "Let's get going!"

"Aye sir!"

While Magnolia Town itself was quite small, its school was of a remarkable size, mainly because of what kind of school it was. Tenrou Academy was a boarding school, and one of the less expensive of its kind as well.

That, and the fact that he had always been a troublemaker, had caused Natsu's father to send him off to Magnolia to _hopefully_ mature a bit. So far, nothing had changed.

Just about to waltz into his classroom, Natsu felt someone take a firm group on his collar. His attempts to escape were all but successful. Resignedly he turned his head to find a certain red-haired woman.

"Natsu…" she growled ominously, her eyebrow twitching in irritation. "Just _when_ will you learn to wear your uniform correctly and set a good example of our school? Your tie is not tied properly."

Letting go of his collar, the girl proceeded to turn him around and do his necktie over. A few of the other students cast a few glances their way, but it was a common scene. As the student council president, Erza was determined to make the school look good.

"There you go," she said, finishing up what she was doing. "Do remember to do it right yourself next time or I will make sure that you are punished for you negligence."

Turning around on her heel, Erza left behind a dumbfounded Natsu. Standing still, someone suddenly poked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Causing trouble for Erza again, huh?" His friend, Lucy, came up to his side, her cheeks flushed as if she had been running for a while.

"Not really. She just helped me fix my tie. But you look like you've been in a hurry? Were you running late for once?"

"You could say that." Lucy sighed, fanning her neck. "It's that time of year. You know, when I have to pay my respects to the spirits of the new season. It's a family tradition."

"Oh, the spirits," Natsu grinned, poking fun at her. "Did you remember to write a letter to Santa as well? Maybe he'll swing by in his sleigh with his flying reindeers and merry little elves."

"You shouldn't mock the spirits," Lucy warned, brushing him off completely. "Just because you haven't met one doesn't mean they're not real. Maybe you'll bump into one someday."

At the sound of the bell, their discussion ended abruptly and they headed for their classroom. Taking a quick look out of the window, Natsu sighed deeply. It was easy to conclude that it was not going to get any warmer.

The snow was crunching beneath his feet as Natsu made his way home through the empty fields. While in summer they were lush and green, they now were covered in snow and ice.

His thoughts wandered back to his discussion with Lucy earlier. Spirits sure as hell could not be real? How could they? Just like ghosts and Santa Claus, they were products of the wild imaginations of little kids.

Passing a small pond, Natsu noticed a figure out on the frozen water. He stopped in shock. It had only started snowing the day before. It was not possible for the ice to hold the weight of a person already. Instinctively Natsu went for the water, waving his arms wildly.

"Hey, that's dangerous!" What if the ice breaks?"

The figure turned around towards him, apparently surprised to see someone else out in the town outskirts. In response to the shout-out, it moved back onto solid ground, stopping right in front of Natsu.

It was a boy, just slightly taller than Natsu. His hair was short and raven black and his eyes had the same grey color as the winter sky. He was clad in a white t-shirt and a pair of dark olive pants. Despite his light clothing, he did not appear to be cold at all.

"Huh? Who the hell are you?" The strange boy glared down at Natsu, slightly irritated. "What're you doing out here?"

"I was just _walking home_," Natsu growled back, returning the glare." But then I saw _you_ out on that pond. Don't you know that it's dangerous to walk out on ice that hasn't been safely checked?"

"None of your business whether I know or not, actually. It's not like I could fall through anyway." The boy scratched the back of his head. Natsu was certain that he had not seen him before, not in school nor in town. While he was not exactly good with faces in the first place, he would have remembered an idiot like this.

"Are you a spirit?"

"Excuse me? Am I _what_?"

"A spirit." The boy shook his head impatiently. "You're not the brightest, are you? This isn't exactly a place where ordinary people "take a walk" so to speak. Anyway, I was just wondering. Don't be a douche."

"Ordinary people walk _home_. I live out here." Natsu clenched his fist. How he wanted to punch that guy's face. "I'm outta here. I've got _better_ stuff to do." He pointed his finger at the other. "It's not my problem when you end up freezing to death after falling through the ice."

As Natsu began to walk away, fuming, a hand gripped his wrist. He glanced back at the boy, met with an indifferent stare. What in the world was up with him?

"Gray," the boy said, letting go of Natsu's arm and shook his hand instead. At Natsu's frown, he explained. "My name. What's yours, Pinky?"

"Don't call me Pinky," Natsu snapped, taking back his own hand. "I'm Natsu. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, really," Gray mused. "I was just curious. Can't say I know a lot of people around here, which _is_ kind of boring." He shot Natsu a grin. "Maybe now it'll be more interesting."

Before Natsu could ask what he meant, he turned around and walked away. Watching him leave, Natsu frowned at the thought of seeing him again.

Okay, maybe that would not be _too_ bad. That boy, Gray, somehow seemed _interesting_ unlike most of the people he knew at school. If they met again, maybe this December would become a bit brighter.

_- December 1__st__ – Their Fated Meeting_


	3. December 2nd: Seeing is Believing

_**A/N: **Here you have part 2 of the story. Whohooo~  
_I'm already looking forward to write the next chapter |D That's how much I love writing the Fairy Tail characters, just saying~

* * *

"I don't think I've ever told anyone how much I hate snow."

Kicking the white pile at his feet, Natsu rubbed his arms to generate more heat. The cold weather was still there. At least no more snow had come from the skies. If any more of that was going to fall, Natsu vowed to go into hibernation for the rest of December.

"Why do you hate it so much?" Happy bowed down to pick up a handful of snow, shaping it in his hands with a sly grin. "Isn't it just frozen water? What's so bad about that?"

"I don't like water either. It's too wet."

Without warning, a snowball hit his face from the left. Glaring to the side, he found Happy on his back on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Personally he could not see what was so funny and frankly, the kid had asked for what was going to happen next.

Pouncing on him, Natsu held him down and threw a bunch of loose snow into his face. The younger boy wriggled underneath to get free, but he was not going to escape.

"Someone save me!" Happy cried out, smiling broadly as he threw more snow back at Natsu aimlessly. Natsu was not sure how he managed to resist the spreading feeling of numbness in his fingers as they came in continuous contact with the cold snow.

"I thought you hated snow Natsu and here you are playing in it. Besides, aren't you a bit too old for that now?" Looking up, Natsu saw Lucy was watching him and Happy. He quickly stood up and brushed off what white that was still on his coat before tightening his warm scarf. He could hear Happy chuckle behind him.

"Only because it's cold," Natsu replied, shrugging. "What're you doing here? I thought you were supposed to pray to the _spirits_ all day since it's Sunday."

"I don't have to pray _all_ day, geez." Lucy sighed and shook her head. "It would be nice if you'd stop nagging me about it. It's really no different than believing things like fate and karma, really. Anyway, I wanted to ask you to come with me to town. By now it's all decorated. Maybe that'll get you into a Christmas mood."

"I doubt it," Natsu grinned, turning around to look at Happy. "What do you say? Wanna go?"

"Yeah! I want to see the Christmas lights in town!" The boy was all riled up to go. "Can we eat roasted almonds too?"

"Sure, why not?"

Looking at his to friends, a broad smile spread across Natsu's face. _This_ was the best thing about Christmas: Hanging out with his friends, being happy.

"Look over there! They're selling trees already!"

The town was truly a sight to see. Like with any other festival throughout the year, Magnolia was all over it, going almost to the extremes in order to make the town look its best for only a short period of time. Fir branches with Christmas decorations were hanging from windows and doors while some people were walking around with red Christmas hats.

"I can't wait to decorate a tree of our own," Lucy said dreamily, her eyes glittering. "I love Christmas. Don't you think it's the warmest time of year?"

"No. I personally think it's the coldest."

"That's not what I meant, silly." She pointed to Natsu's chest. "In there. Doesn't it warm your heart to see people all happy like this? Everyone likes Christmas so they do their best to make it a wonderful time. Sort of like a light in the dark, isn't that right?"

"I guess so?" Natsu's attention had been drawn to Happy, who was eagerly munching away on his glazed apple. "But it would be better if it was warmer."

"You do realize you'll anger the winter spirits by saying that, right?" Lucy teased, laughing at Natsu's eye-rolling. "They work hard to make this season good. Snow is part of the Christmas spirit so you should appreciate it."

"Whatever."

The three stopped at a café to have something to drink. Natsu was glad to _finally_ be able get something to heat up his cold body. A cup of hot cocoa really did the job. While Lucy and Happy where happily chatting away, he glanced out over the town. Everyone really did seem to enjoy the season. Maybe Lucy was right about having to appreciate Christmas more.

_Huh?_

His eyes were drawn to a figure in the small crowd walking past the café. They only widened as he realized who he was looking at. There was no way he was mistaking it for someone else. It was the same black hair and the same grey eyes.

_It's that guy from yesterday!_

Natsu quickly rose from his chair and headed for the familiar figure. Why was he in town? Was he living there? Suddenly he met Natsu's gaze and a grin came upon his face. It seemed he had been recognized as well.

"Natsu? Where are you going?" Lucy looked at him, confused. Waving his hand at her, Natsu continued walking, not taking his eyes off of the black-haired boy for a moment.

"Sorry. Something's come up. I'll see you around."

Walking up to the boy, Natsu took a few seconds to look at him. He seemed different from yesterday, probably because of his now more heavy clothing. He was wearing a long, white coat with blue edges, but seemingly the same outfit from the day before underneath. No ear-warmers, no scarf, no gloves. It was still a wonder he was not freezing.

"Hey Pinky. Fancy meeting you here," Gray laughed, following as Natsu urged him to come along. "I didn't expect to see you this soon. It's a small world after all."

"It's "Natsu", remember?" Natsu glared at Gray, irritated by the silly nickname. He was not exactly proud of his hair color. "What are you doing in town today?"

"Me? I was just checking out how things were around here." He looked around, smiling at the Christmas decorations that had been put up. "I had no idea this town cared this much about Christmas. This has got to be the fanciest little place in the middle of nowhere I have ever seen."

"Is that even a good thing?"

"I suppose it is. It's better than the village I went to last year. Nothing but old people sitting around in their houses all day, staring at the snow. Or the year before that where I had to go to south. I swear, the heat nearly killed me."

They took a break on a bench in the town center where they sat down. Why was Natsu walking around with this guy? It was a puzzling thought. They had only met yesterday, but since he seemed friendly enough… well, it would not harm anyone to be friendly.

"Yesterday you said you were new around here." Natsu shot a glance at Gray, who nodded in response. "Do you travel a lot? It sounds like you've been to a bunch of different places."

"Oh yeah. All across the country in fact." Gray leaned his head back and looked into the sky. "Every year I have to go somewhere new when winter starts, but it's usually the same, boring kind of place with nothing to do. This is the first time it's actually been worth going out and taking a look around."

"Sounds tough. Is it because of your parents or something?"

Gray suddenly turned his head and stared and Natsu with eyes wide in surprise. Had that really been such a shocking question? It did not appear so, as Gray broke into laughter only moments later.

"Parents? Hah, that's a good one! You're a funny one." He wiped a tear away from the corner of his eyes. "No, it's my job. I have to manage different areas. You know, like the weather and stuff. It wouldn't be winter without me."

This time Natsu was the one to be surprised. However, before he could ask Gray another question, the latter stood up and began to walk away before turning around to face Natsu again. Natsu could only stare in dismay. The snow he had stepped upon appeared to be completely untouched. Meeting Gray's eyes, he was given a grin.

"I've gotta go. Duty's calling."

As Gray walked away, Natsu was left in his own thoughts. He could hardly believe his own eyes and he continued to stare at the snow at his feet. That Gray… who was he? No, that was not the important question. Rather, that question should be…

_What_ was he?

_- December 2__nd__ – Seeing is believing_


	4. December 3rd: You Can Believe Again

_**A/N: **December 3rd. Maybe now Natsu can start believing in magic and stuff |D Thanks to **Rikkai and hyotei lover **for having reviewed since the first chapter. **Sabi-chan93** too xD You can read this without having seen much of the series, though, since it's pretty much just an original plot involving the Fairy Tail characters~ _

* * *

It was about time that the weather started getting better. Since the day before, the temperature had risen to above the freezing point which meant that slowly, but surely the snow was melting. It probably would not be too long before the ground underneath could be seen again.

While eating his lunch in the classroom, Natsu grinned widely as his eyes fell upon a dripping icicle outside the window: A sure sign that it was getting warmer. Once the thaw had begun it would hopefully take a while before more snow came down… but preferably, it should stay away altogether.

"There you are, Natsu!"

Lucy slammed down her hand on his table, making him jump a bit. The girl was pouting at him, seemingly in a bit of a bad mood. He could not recall having done anything to anger her.

"Hey Lucy."

"Don't you "hey Lucy" me! I've been looking for you all morning!" She rolled her eyes as she sat down on a chair on the other side of Natsu's table. "Where did you go yesterday? Happy and I were searching I everywhere for you."

"Oh yeah, about that…" Natsu laughed carefully, scratching his chin. "I kind of went home after that. Guess I sort of forgot about you."

"Stupid," Lucy groaned, snatching one of the lumps of chicken in Natsu's lunch. He was about to protest, but stopped himself. She _was_ right about yesterday after all. "Who was that guy you met anyway? An old friend of yours?"

"I wouldn't say _friend_." He and Gray had only just met. It was too early to say whether they were friends or not. "We kind of bumped into each other and since he's new around here I thought I'd talk some more to him."

Natsu paused, remembering his conversation with Gray. Yesterday he had witnessed something that was not supposed to be possible. What was Gray? He pretty much looked like any other guy but, thinking back, there had been something unusual about him. When they had met the first time, he had been walking on a lake with thin ice without falling through. Yesterday he did not leave footprints in the snow.

_A… spirit? _No. No way. That was _not_ the case. It had to be some kind of elaborate trick.

"Hello? Earth to Natsu?" Lucy poked a finger into his cheek, making Natsu shout out in surprise. "Stop spacing out for a minute, seriously."

"Sorry," he responded mumbling, frowning ever so slightly. Perhaps he should take the opportunity to ask. "Lucy, how are spirits different from people? Do they have some sort of special powers or weaknesses?"

"Huh?" Lucy looked at him, puzzled. "Since when did you become so interested in spirits? I thought you didn't believe in them."

"I don't. I was just curious."

"Fine, I guess I can share a thing or two." She leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms. "First of all, yeah. Spirits can control the weather. Remember how I told you about the spirits of the seasons? They are the ones who make the weather rainy or sunny."

"Or snowy?"

"Or snowy. Secondly, since spirits aren't human, there are a few ways to distinguish them from us. For example, they don't have to eat or sleep and they live much longer than humans."

She paused to wait for Natsu to take it all in. So far the information Lucy provided had not been very useful, but there was still more.

"Another funny thing is that while spirits have physical bodies, they don't have heartbeats and neither do they breathe. It may _look_ like they breathe, but there's no air going in or out." She lit up into a big grin. "But the quickest way to determine whether you're dealing with a spirit is to look at their feet."

"Their _feet_?" Natsu let out a small laugh. "Are you serious?"

You're an idiot. Weren't you the one who asked?" She sighed. "Anyway, humans are part of the natural world, but spirits are above it. They rule it. That's why they don't leave footprints. At least that's what the legends say."

Natsu blinked in surprise at Lucy's words. _Spirits did not leave footprints_. That would explain why Gray had not left any in the snow yesterday or why he could walk around on thin ice without falling through. Hell, he had even said that _he was unable to_.

He sat there for a while, absorbed in thought. He did not even notice when Lucy left for her class and his own began. All he could think about was what he had been told. Was it even possible that something like spirits did exist?

And, if that indeed was the case… could Gray be one of them?

It had gotten quite late when Natsu finally determined that he could not sleep. He had spent hours after school looking for the black-haired boy-maybe-spirit, but to no avail. Gray had been nowhere to be found. Eventually Natsu had given up.

Putting on his jacket, he headed for the hallway door, careful that he did not wake up his roommate. Soon enough, he was met by a cold gust from the fields before him outside the dorms. A walk was what he needed to clear his mind.

"Natsu?"

At the sound of a familiar voice calling his name, Natsu turned his head to see the guy he had spent all day looking around town to find. Gray was right there, just outside the gate to the dorm grounds. Walking up to the other boy, Natsu scooped up a pile of snow and threw it at him.

"Where the hell have you been all day? I couldn't find you anywhere!"

"Why in the world would you even be looking for me?" Gray looked surprised as he brushed off the snow that had hit him. "I had a job to be done, so chill out. But hey, why are you out here? Shouldn't you be sleeping in a warm bed or something?"

"Couldn't sleep," Natsu grumbled, glaring up at Gray. "Which is your fault, by the way. Something's been weirding me out since yesterday." He shot a glance at Gray's feet and, as he had thought, no footprints were visible. He pointed his finger downwards. "What's that about?"

"What's what about?"

"Your _feet_." Natsu was losing his patience. He was already tired as it was and he did not want to hear the other act stupid. "How can there not be footprints? And when you talk…" Natsu watched carefully for several seconds, but it was as he had expected. "…wouldn't the air turn all misty in front of your mouth from the warm air in your lungs? But it isn't!"

At Natsu's accusations, Gray simply stared at him, speechless. He was not moving an inch and Natsu was not about to let him leave without explaining everything.

"Quite the slowpoke, aren't we?" When Gray finally spoke, his voice had lowered and his eyes narrowed. "I thought you would've figured it out by now. I bet you're just one of those skeptics who won't believe until they see proof. Come with me."

Without a word, Natsu followed Gray's lead until they reached a lake a few minutes away. Surrounded by trees, it was a serene spot and with the moon shining above it could probably go for a romantic rendezvous point. The current scenario, however, was anything but that.

"What are you hoping to prove out here?" Natsu eyes wandered around as he wondered what Gray was going to do next. Whatever he planned, Natsu was ready for it… or so he thought.

Not giving Natsu a straight answer, Gray simply walked towards the edge of the lake. It was easy to see, even in the dark, that the surface of the water was moving and the wind blew across it. It was not frozen over. Horrified, Natsu was about to run and pull back Gray, but then he saw it.

The moment Gray's foot should have sunk into the water, a fine layer of ice formed underneath it, perfectly freezing the water surface. From that single point, the freezing spread. As he walked out further, it was not long before the entire lake had frozen over.

"T-that's impossible!" Natsu exclaimed in disbelief, walking to the edge and carefully checking the hardness of the ice. It seemed perfectly capable of carrying his weight. As he fully stepped unto it, his theory was proven correct. "This isn't real. _Spirits aren't real_."

"Come on, don't give me that." Gray walked straight up to Natsu and looked directly into his eyes. Met by the grey stare, Natsu felt unable to move. "You just saw it yourself and I'm still here. Isn't that proof enough?"

"Proof enough of what? That you're… a spirit?"

"Exactly. The name's Gray Fullbuster, a spirit of winter."

Gray grinned teasingly as he took a few steps back and turned on the ice before spreading his arms out wide. Looking up, Natsu saw tiny flakes of snow fall from the sky. Was that also Gray's work? Maybe. If he could freeze a lake over, why not start a snowstorm? Lucy had said so herself. Spirits controlled the weather.

Watching the snow fall, a smile slowly spread across his lips. So what if what he had seen should not be possible? _It had._ So what if spirits were not supposed to be real? _They did._ It was as if something had been lifted from his heart in that very moment.

And so, he began laughing. Laughing with all of his heart.

_- December 3__rd__ – You can believe again_


	5. December 4th: And So It Begins

_**A/N: **December 4th. Finally, the plot thickens~_

* * *

_The fields were white as far as the eye could see. Since the snow had fallen during the night, it still appeared to be completely untouched. It was a rare sight, but also beautiful, astonishing even. Truly a work of art if he should say so himself._

_Alone, a black-haired boy was taking a stroll across the field, admiring the landscape he had turned into a masterpiece. Last night had been quite special. He never thought he would have found someone as intriguing as that human boy. Staying in the area had already become less of a hassle since they had met. Had he actually had a heart, it would have been warmed. Could the same maybe be said about a soul?_

_He chuckled at his own silent joke as he took a turn, heading towards the town. The sun would rise soon, meaning that its people should already be up. He had not yet seen the human boy he had been looking for that morning. Perhaps last night had been a bit too much? Of course, he might also just be sleeping in._

_As he considered whether he should go pay this boy a visit, he noticed something move just within his field of vision. With a single movement of his hand, he sent a cold gust in the same direction. He was immediately met with a wave of warmth._

"_Brrr! That's cold, you idiot! Are you trying to freeze me to death?"_

_Raising an eyebrow, he turned to face the familiar voice. It was a male with bright orange hair and blue sunglasses which he was currently busy polishing. The temperature change from cold to warm had caused them to fog up._

"_What the hell are you doing all the way out here?"_

"_What kind of question is that?" The other put his sunglasses back on, despite the lack of sunlight. "I'm here to see you, obviously. Plus I've heard there's this really cute priestess or something living around here. That's pretty much the main reason I came. Anyway, you should ease up on the below zero temperatures. It's freakin' cold!"_

_The black-haired boy shook his head in dismay. It appeared that his good friend had decided to swing by. Being a summer spirit, he did not do well with cold weather. Disliking the opposite season was part of their identity, but somehow they had still managed to become friends. Perhaps because that guy enjoyed being a pain in the ass far too often._

"_It's_ winter_ if you hadn't noticed," the first boy growled in return, crossing his arms. "If you've got a problem with it, why don't you crawl back down into your little warm nest and sleep for the next three months?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "What's the deal?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean; what's the real reason you came here?" He narrowed his eyes as he glared at the other. "You're not here for laughs and giggles Loki, I can tell. Something's up."_

_The orange-head, Loki, pushed up the sunglasses further up on his nose, nodding slowly. Though his eyes were difficult to see, they were perfectly serious._

"_That's right. You're in big trouble, my friend."_

"_What kind of trouble?"_

_Loki sighed resignedly. The first looked back at him, confused. It was not unlike him to get in trouble, but for his friend to actually warn him about it beforehand… that was new. Besides, he could think of a single reason as why he should be in trouble. Not unless revealing yourself as a spirit had suddenly become forbidden._

"_You really have no clue, do you? Guess news doesn't travel very fast around here." Loki took a firm grip on his comrade's shoulder. "Last night there was an incident not far from here. The Holidays are all panicked about it."_

_Another surprise. Why in the world would the leaders of the spirits, the Holidays, be panicked about_ anything? _They were the most powerful beings in the world, or so the story went at least. What in the world was going on?_

"_It's serious. The Yule Spirit was travelling through this area late last night. You know, the most powerful of the Holidays? According to the rumors, they never made it to the next area. You were supposed to be on guard and make sure of their whereabouts. The Holidays have been looking for you for hours."_

"What?_"_ _His eyes widened in shock. Of course he had not been on guard. He had been with that guy last night. Had he been so caught up in someone else that he had completely missed that the Yule Spirit had been travelling through_ his _area? "What do you mean "never made it"? Are you saying-"_

"_Yes." Loki interrupted him, letting go of his shoulder. "That's_ exactly _what I'm saying. The Yule Spirit… has disappeared."_

_What a terrible day_, Natsu thought as he made his way home from the school, Happy skipping along eagerly behind him. Not only had he been late because of his late night adventures with Gray. Erza had been bugging him about his lateness the entire day. When he found that non-human bastard, he was _so _going to take it out on him.

And, speaking of the devil, was that not him walking towards them on the road to town? There was no mistaking the outfit. That was most certainly Gray. Halting for a moment, Happy bumped straight into his back. Rubbing his nose, he went to Natsu's side.

"Ouch! Why'd you stop so suddenly?"

"Oi."

Natsu took a few steps forward towards Gray, who had also come to a halt. Looking closer, something seemed different about him. Unlike the times they had met up until then, Gray had pretty much been grinning or smiling non-stop. However, right then his face was locked into a deep frown.

"Hey."

The short greeting was all Natsu got before Gray simply walked past him, hands in his pockets and back slightly hunched. But Natsu was not going to accept that. Swiftly, he took a hold of Gray's wrist, preventing him from going any further without a fight.

"What's with the attitude?" Natsu growled, glaring at the boy, who was obviously avoiding his eyes. "When the hell did I piss you off?"

"You didn't," was the short answer before Gray pulled his wrist back, shooting a short look at Natsu. "It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't! Why are you like this all of a sudden?"

"_None of your business!_"

Natsu was taken aback by the sudden raise in the other's tone. Why did he have to go and yell now? It appeared as if Happy was quite frightened as well. Watching Gray closely, Natsu put an arm on the younger boy's shoulder.

"Sorry," Gray mumbled, averting his gaze. "It's not your problem, it's mine. Just stay out of it."

Unable to speak, Natsu could only watch as Gray disappeared down the road. He could feel Happy cling to his arm. The kid was not the only one who had been shocked. Gray was definitely not going to get away without giving an explanation next time.

"Hey Natsu…" Happy's voice was trembling a little as his eyes met Natsu's. "Who was that guy? He seemed really weird."

"Don't worry about it. He's just someone I know. Let's go back home, 'kay?"

"Okay."

Taking one last look over his shoulder in hopes of seeing Gray, Natsu headed towards the dorm building with Happy. The spirit was already out of sight. Something had been off with him. Something was definitely wrong. Though they were not even remotely close, Natsu despised the thought of ignoring whatever troubles Gray might have.

He was going to find out for sure and then he would help. That was how he did things.

_Because in this case… something was up, without a doubt._

_- December 4__th__ – And so it begins…_

_**Notes:**__ "Yule" was a festival celebrated in Northern Europe in the old days before it was assimilated into what we now know as Christmas. The Danish word for Christmas, "Jul" actually derives from the old festival. The Yule Spirit in this story is the one in charge of this celebration, so to speak. So basically, it is the spirit of Christmas.__  
_


	6. December 5th: The Unlikely Alliance

_**A/N: **I'M SORRY FOR BEING SUCH A FAILURE AND ONLY UPLOAD THIS NOW! *smacks her head down on the desk* I've been feeling terrible these past few days. My head has been hurting constantly because I'm too tense and stressed out. After school today I spent most of my afternoon sleeping after taking some painkillers and muscle relaxants. On top of it, there's school. I'm feeling pretty down as of late, BUT AT LEAST WRITING CAN KEEP MY SPIRITS UP.  
That's why I want to take the time here to express how much your support means to me. I can't even begin to express my gratitude. Knowing you read this, I feel like writing more and, in turn, I feel happier. You guys make my day. Thank you 3_  
_And now, after my stupid, meaningless blabbering, we have the new chapter~_

* * *

_What the hell?!_

It was the one expression that fit Natsu's current state of mind perfectly. He had been worrying all morning about Gray's sudden gloomy mood. Brushed out without even a second of doubt, Natsu had decided he was not going to let the spirit get away with treating him like that. Not after he had finally started considering Gray something akin to a friend.

Which was why he was pretty much astonished by what he had laid his eyes upon when leaving his classroom during the lunch break.

In the hallway, a number of people had gathered around something Natsu could not see exactly what was. Curious as he was, he dragged Lucy along to see what the fuss was all about. And, in that moment, he saw something he had _never _expected to see.

_What the hell_ was indeed quite fitting.

"YOU?!"

Natsu pointed his finger at the person in the center of attention. The girls were all snickery while talking to him which could hardly come as a surprise. His half-opened shirt and short sleeves revealed enough of his body to tell a story of its own. His black hair was perfectly messy and went well with his seemingly laid-back yet slightly arrogant attitude.

The guy in question was, to Natsu's huge surprise, none other than Magnolia's winter spirit, Gray.

"Huh? Eh?! Seriously?!" After a second of confusion, Gray's face lit up at seeing the pink-haired boy he had met several times already. "You're in _high school_, Pinky?"

"Nuh-uhm don't you start! I'm the one asking questions here," Natsu growled at the boy, pushing the crowd aside to come closer. "Why are _you_ in high school?! You're not even-"

"Sssssh!" Gray hissed, putting a hand in front of Natsu's mouth before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Don't say that out loud in public. Half of the people here'll think you're a lunatic." Straightening up, he sent a smile to the girls who had talked to him before, still not letting go of the smaller boy. "Would you please excuse us for a moment? I have something to discuss with this guy. See you later."

Minutes later, the two of them had left Gray's new admirers far behind, finding themselves at the staircase to the school's basement. Gray wiped his forehead before shooting Natsu an irritated glare the pink-haired boy did not quite get.

"Geez. You nearly blew my cover there, you idiot," the spirit boy snarled, flicking Natsu's forehead. The other winced in pain. "Ordinary people can't tell I'm a spirit and there's no need for them to know either. I'd appreciate it if you could keep quiet about it."

"Who are _you_ calling an idiot?!" Natsu grumbled back at him, rubbing his aching forehead. "If I'm such an _idiot_, why did you even bother telling me your little secret in the first place, huh? Why get me involved with you and all of your spirit-y-ness or whatever?" He poked his finger at Gray's chest. "Why didn't you just stay the hell away from me in the first place? _Don't expect me to just ignore you now!_"

Blinking a few times, Gray finally sighed before pushing Natsu away with a hand on his head. He looked away while shaking his head slowly.

"I didn't mean it like that." He looked back at Natsu with an apologetic expression. "But, put simply, you're the only human who knows I'm a spirit and I'm fine with it. When I met you the first time, you seemed like a nice guy. I bet it sounds stupid to you, but we spirits can sense others' intensions, sort of like animals. Most humans I've met so far were selfish bastards who didn't care about others. You're different."

"How so?"

"Didn't I just tell you?" Gray grinned, patting Natsu's head. "You're a nice guy. If you weren't, you wouldn't have called out to me on the lake that day unless I had fallen through."

"So what you're saying," Natsu inquired, "is that _any_ other person would've just ignored you? I don't think so. That's not how humans are."

"It's _exactly_ how humans are," Gray insisted, his face going into a frown. "They only care about what's best for themselves and not their surroundings. There was a time when spirits and humans were able to live together, but places where this is the case are in decline. People just don't care anymore. That's why it's great to meet someone who thinks otherwise every now and then."

Somehow, Natsu felt a funny warmth spread from his chest and into his cheeks at Gray's words. It was an unusual compliment to receive, but flattering none the less. Compliments were not something he was used to get from anyone.

"That's all very nice," Natsu mumbled, remembering the reason why he was at the staircase with Gray in the first place. "There's just _one _thing I don't get which your pretty little speech didn't quite explain. Why in the world are you at my school? More importantly, why were you such an ass yesterday?"

"_Ass_? What're you talking about?"

"You told me to stay out of your business!" Natsu nearly shouted at the other. "We're friends, aren't we? Even if it's no big deal, you can share your problems with me. I'm plenty used to trouble anyway."

"Friends?" Gray seemed to consider the word for a few seconds before starting to smile again. "You're right. I guess we are. Besides, my problems, what happened yesterday and the reason for being at your school is pretty much all connected. I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you what's up though."

"Try me."

"Fine. The Yule Spirit's disappeared."

"Excuse me?" Natsu's eyes widened at the sound of the foreign name. "The _what_ disappeared?"

"The _Yule Spirit_. They're basically in charge of making sure the entire Christmas season comes along with no trouble, like I'm in charge of winter in this area… except _they_ manage the season across the entire world." Gray went back into a frown. "Yesterday I found out that they disappeared near Magnolia, around the time I showed you my powers. I was angry with myself for slacking off and failing to notice before. I'm sorry for taking it out on you."

"No problem," Natsu grinned. "Just glad you told me. It sounds like a pretty big deal though. Is this _Yool Spirit_ some kind of big shot among spirits?"

"Big shot? Hah!" Gray let out a loud, fake laugh. "The Yule Spirit is one of the Holidays. They're strongest of the strongest. For one of them to disappear is a _freakin'_ huge deal. Holiday spirits don't just disappear. Something happens to them. Something big and something bad. Which is why I'm here."

"You lost me. What does this school have to do with a missing spirit?"

"The grounds of this school hold a huge amount of spiritual energy," Gray explained, seeing Natsu's puzzled face. "Usually that only happens if some kind of powerful spirit is close-by. I doubt it's the Yule Spirit, but I'm absolutely sure it is connected to their disappearance."

Silence fell for several minutes as both boys went into deep thought. It was hard for Natsu to grasp. He had never thought the world of spirits would be as complicated as his own. It seemed they had their own important people and could get just as worked up about it. There was no other way around it.

"I'll help you out."

"Say what?"

"I'll help you find this _Yu_-whatever spirit." Natsu gave him a thumbs-up. "We're friends and friends help each other. So count me in. We'll find this spirit and save Christmas." He paused for a second, thinking. "…Christmas is in danger, right? Since this spirit is in charge of it."

"Uhm… I think so?" Gray said, his laughing insecure. "But seriously, you should stay out of it. This only involves spirits. You're just an ordinary human."

"I'm your _friend_," Natsu insisted. "Which means I'll help you whether you like it or not. It's not as if you can stop me anyway." He grinned at the other. "That's just how stubborn I am."

Gray could not hold back a big smile. It was easy to see how glad he was to not have to undertake the task of finding the missing Yule Spirit alone. It would most likely require quite a lot of help. Giving Natsu a light punch on the shoulder, he laughed heartfelt.

"Thanks Natsu. I appreciate it."

_- December 5__th__ – The unlikely alliance_


	7. December 6th: Success and Failure

_**A/N: **I apologize for yet another late update. I'm wrote half of this chapter during my breaks in school today and the rest late at night |D Basically that's when I have time lately, so please bear with me~  
**Rikkai and hyotei lover: **Huhuhu~ You'll learn who the Yule Spirit is soon enough ^^  
__And yes. I could not resist putting a certain favorite character of mine into this story |D As if I can write ANYTHING Fairy Tail without including him. That would be BLASPHEMEH!_

* * *

It felt awesome to finally become involved in something _exciting_ for once, especially in a small town such as Magnolia. A powerful spirit had gone missing and Natsu, along with Gray, was going to find it.

However, there was one thing Natsu had not taken into consideration when he befriended Gray. The guy was quite distrustful towards humans, which could hardly be a surprise since he could sense their intentions.

And yet, _certain people_ just did not seem to care at all when Gray tried to distance himself. Apparently it made him "mysterious". Girls _loved_ mysterious.

Natsu laid sluggishly across his table in the classroom, Gray beside him with a tired face. Dealing with all of Gray's "fans" had turned out to be an extremely exhausting task.

"With all of these chicks around we'll never be able to investigate the school," Gray grumbled, glaring at the small group of girls by the door. The second he made eye contact they began to snicker and whisper away eagerly. "How annoying can they even get?!"

Natsu silently agreed. He and Gray had been chased around by those girls _all day_, leaving no time for them to search the school grounds for the source of the strangely large amount of magic Gray had sensed.

"We need to get them off our backs somehow." Gray looked at Natsu resignedly. "Got any bright ideas, Pinky?"

"Shut up."

Natsu put his forehead against the desk, ignoring the stupid nickname Gray insisted on using. He was already starting to hate it. Still, he should try to come up with a plan, some way to get rid of Gray's personal fan group, at least temporarily. Who would be able to deal with an entire group of girls on their own with little trouble? A sudden realization struck him.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, surprising Gray as he slammed his hands on the table. "I know how we'll deal with the problem!"

"Eh? How?"

Natsu simply grinned as he grabbed Gray's arm, tugging at it to tell him to come along. Moving past the girls, he headed straight for a particular room in which he knew the salvation to their troubles would be for sure.

Hopefully, she would be willing to help them.

"Erza? You here?" Natsu called as he opened the door to the student council's usual meeting room. Inside, a red-haired woman with crossed legs sat looking through a pile of documents. She did not appear to have noticed the two people entering.

"Erza!"

"Yes? What do you want?"

As Erza looked up at them, Gray sank a lump in his throat. Natsu could only laugh. It was the usual reaction for someone who did not know the true colors of the lady in front of them. While she was quite the beauty, her personality scared off most people. _Most_.

"I need your help." Natsu pushed Gray in front of himself. "There's a bunch of girls _bothering_ our new transfer student. They just won't leave him alone. Can't you _please_ take care of them?"

"Bothering?" Erza lifted a brow as she gathered the documents neatly before putting them down. "And why is it that _you_ come here then? I hope you aren't planning on causing trouble." Sighing, she took a look at Gray, who immediately froze in her presence. "You must be Gray Fullbuster, correct?"

"Y-yeah. That's me."

"And these girls are bothering you?"

"U-uhm, yeah." Scratching his chin, Gray turned his gaze away from Erza. "You could say that. It's pretty annoying to have them follow me everywhere."

"Alright." Erza stood up from her chair, walking past the two boys. "Since this sounds like a beginning stalker issue, I suppose I will have to take action. But know this, _Natsu_…" She gave him a harsh glare which made Natsu cringe. "If you are lying to me, I will punish you. Got that?"

"Sure Erza," he laughed nervously, holding his hands up front. "I get it. Thanks for helping us out. Just like we'd expect our awesome President to do, yeah?"

He elbowed Gray, who realized the meaning and nodded in agreement. Looking one last time at them, Erza swiftly left the room. Once she was out of sight, the two boys only needed to exchange looks for a second before sharing a high-five. They had done it.

Darkness had fallen upon Magnolia as two figures quickly moved down the hallways of the seemingly empty school. However, if one listened closely, only the footsteps of one of these two characters could actually be heard.

Pushing against the wall, Gray took a short look down the hall, scouting for any signs of life. Nothing could be seen. Without a word, he mouthed Natsu to move along. So far, they had already searched through most of the school and only one part was left.

During their afternoon investigation, the two had come up empty-handed. Gray had thought it might be that whatever the source of the magic was, it would only come out at night. Either that or it hid in the basement to which they would have no chance of accessing during daytime.

Which was why they were currently heading for it in only the light of the moon. Natsu grimaced. If Erza were ever to find out that they had broken into the school at night, they would be two dead guys. Very, _very_ dead. But what she did not know would not hurt her… or _them_ for that matter.

The basement was pitch black. They had only brought a weak flashlight and they could not risk turning on any of the light there. Natsu shivered at the thought of whatever might hide in the darkness. He could fight back, sure… but if whatever was hiding on the school was hostile _and_ supernatural he would be in trouble. Hopefully Gray knew how to defend himself.

"Looks like nothing's here," Gray mumbled as they had found yet another empty room. They had still not found anything. "Maybe I was wrong. I thought for sure we would find some kind of clue in this place."

"Hey, we're not done yet!" Natsu said cheerfully, patting his friend on the back. "Let's look a bit longer since we're already here. We might still find something."

No sooner had Natsu uttered those words before the two heard a sound behind them. The sound of something being knocked over and hitting the floor. Turning around, the two of them could only stare in disbelief at what met their eyes.

They had expected to see nothing, but it was quite the opposite. What they saw was a young man with bright blue hair. He was wearing a ripped shirt and the look upon his face was panicked. Natsu could not help but to stare at the strange red tattoo running down across his face. After a few seconds of staring at one another, the man took a step back and raised his hands.

"Get away from me!"

"No, wait!" Gray stepped forward, reaching out a hand towards the man. "We're not your enemies. Just wait a second!"

His persuasion failed as the man turned around on his heel and dashed. Natsu was about to chase after him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. For some reason, Gray was holding him back.

"Why aren't we going after him?" Natsu growled at him, genuinely confused. "Isn't he sort of suspicious?"

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to corner him. Not when he's panicked." Gray frowned as he stared down the hallway where the man had disappeared into the darkness. "He's too powerful for either of us to handle in that state, though I wonder why he didn't realize we weren't going to hurt him."

"You mean you know him?"

"Of course I do." Gray sighed deeply. "Every spirit does. That guy was Jellal. He's the basically the Yule Spirit's right hand man. If something's happened to make him freak out like that… it's pretty bad. We've got to find him and figure out what the hell is going on."

As they made their way down the hall, their mood had hit rock bottom. They had just found what they were looking for and it was obviously that it was a major clue to solve the mystery of the Yule Spirit's disappearance…

…and they had let him get away.

_- December 6__th__ – Success and failure_


	8. December 7th: A Helping Hand

_**A/N: **I AM SO SORRY that I haven't been able to update before today! My back and shoulders have been hurting the last few days and I was told to take a break from writing on my computer since it would only make it worse. So, I had to write some drafts by hand instead. Now I'm working on actually finishing them off by writing them on my computer. I hope I can catch up to today's chapter before tomorrow OTL I'm so behind. And again, I'm really sorry. I hope you can bear with me for a bit longer.  
Now, the chapter for December 7th..._

* * *

The Crocus Café in Magnolia was surprisingly popular among the students of the nearby school. While not densely packed in the afternoon, it had a nice, warm atmosphere about it.

Behind the window, looking at the streets outside, Natsu sat with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Across the table was Gray, his arms crossed over his chest with an impatient look on his face. Soon enough, he put his arm on the table to support his head.

"What exactly is it that we're waiting for?" the spirit asked grumpily, trying to follow Natsu's line of vision. "This is a waste of time."

"It's not, trust me." Natsu lit up as he waved to someone outside. "There's this friend of mine I'm sure can help us."

"A friend?" Gray shook his head in irritation. "Like that Erza-woman yesterday? You know some strange types. How is this person supposed to help us?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure there's some way. She knows all this amazing stuff about spirits." Natsu turned to smile at his friend. "I never actually believed the things she told me before met you. Kind of hard to believe all those weird things when you haven't seen them."

"She knows about spirits?! How is that-"

"Ah, Natsu!"

A female voice cut him off. Turning their heads towards the voice, they saw a short blonde girl in an elegant, pink winter coat. Her large blue eyes were shining and the way she smiled almost lit up the room instantly. She made their way to them at sat down at their table.

"Hi, I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia," she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Your name was Gray, right? The new transfer student?"

"Yeah, that's me," Gray replied, looking at her warily. Little surprise there since it was hard for him to trust humans. However, she _was_ one of Natsu's friends.

"Lucy's sort of a priestess. Her family runs a shrine honoring the local spirits," Natsu explained. "She knows everything there is to know about spirits in this area. That's why I thought she could help."

"So you finally decided to believe me, huh Natsu?" Lucy teased, elbowing Natsu. "What happened to make you change your mind so suddenly?"

"This guy. He's a spirit."

"A spirit?" Lucy widened her eyes as she took another look at Gray. "No way. He's not a local one, that's for sure. Are you a seasonal spirit? Like, a winter spirit or something?"

"Uhm, yeah. Why?"

"So _that_ explains the weather lately." Lucy happily clapped her hands together, a big smile on her face. "I thought it was strange that it started snowing out of nowhere without a winter spirit showing up. You should have come to the shrine. I'd be more than happy to help. What's the thing you need help with anyway? Natsu said you guys wanted my help."

"Well," Natsu began, moving in closer to Lucy. "There's this situation…"

* * *

"The Yule Spirit has disappeared? That _is _a big deal."

"Exactly. Which is why we need all the help we can get, right?" Natsu grinned at the baffled Gray, who did not appear to particularly agree with that mindset. "And I know that you know all sorts of weird things about supernatural stuff so we decided to come to you.

"_You_ decided," Gray mumbled, but was obviously ignored by the cheerful Natsu. The younger boy was certain that this was a good choice. Little could be done but to trust Natsu, though Gray was not all to fond of the idea of cooperating with the girl… though she _was_ a cute one.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't know a lot about that particular spirit, "Lucy admitted, but quickly added more upon seeing Natsu's disappointed face. "I mean, no one knows much about it other than that it shows up around Christmas. There is something I can do though…"

"And what is that?" Gray crossed his arms and raised his brow at the girl which in return gave him a sour pout. She was clearly not appreciating his distrustfulness.

"We have bunches of ancient books and scriptures about the spirits at home," Lucy explained knowingly. "Our shrine _has_ existed for generations after all. I'm positive there will be something about the Yule Spirit in at least one of them."

"Guess that's a start," Gray admitted, sighing at the eagerly nodding Natsu. "But can I ask you, why are you even bothering to help us? It's none of your concern."

"What are you saying?" Lucy complained as she stood up so quickly that people around shot her strange looks. She sat down again before continuing. "It's definitely my concern! If the Yule Spirit is gone, what'll happen to Christmas? If I can do anything to help, I'll do it."

"Fine. If you say so."

Lucy and Gray exchanged irritated looks for several minutes and Natsu could not help but to laugh at it. It appeared that Gray was somewhat warming up to dealing with other people, which was a good thing. Plus they now had a great way of finding new clues. Things were going in the right direction.

* * *

"Anything over there?"

Natsu pointed his flashlight into yet another small storage room. He and Gray were, once again, searching the basement of Tenrou Academy, hoping to find the man they had seen yesterday. If he was indeed working with the Yule Spirit, his aid was extremely valuable.

"Nope. Still nothing. Where the hell has he gone?"

So far, they had come up empty-handed still. There was no trace of the strange man. It was as if he had never been there. It was possible that it was because he was a spirit, but as Gray had said, when not even traces of spiritual powers were present… something was going on.

"How long are we going to keep this up?" Natsu slid down on the floor, sighing deeply. "It's pretty obvious that he isn't here anymore. We should look elsewhere."

"Yeah, but where?" Gray sat down beside him, his face revealing how defeated he felt. "We have no idea where to look other than here. Guess our only hope is that someone has seen him which I find extremely unlikely."

"I s'pose you're right."

Perhaps it would be an idea to hear someone out tomorrow. If anyone had seen the strange, blue-haired man, they most certainly would remember him. It was possible that this was their best shot… but at least it was a plan.

_- December 7__th__ – A helping hand_


	9. December 8th: My Old Friend

**_A/N: _**_Finishing up this chapter took longer than expected OTL I'll start working on today's chapter in a few minutes, but it might not be up until tomorrow. I'll do my best to try and finish it though. I don't want to fall further behind_ xD  
_There is a bit more Jellal x Erza focus in this chapter, simply because I cannot resist xD I'm trying to keep the characters the way they are in the series, so it felt natural having them know each other |D And yay, a larger circle of friends which will only become larger from this chapter on~_

* * *

Finding someone who had seen the blue-haired man Natsu and Gray were searching for was easier said than done. Walking up to someone and ask them whether they had seen that person was not exactly the best idea. It appeared the plan was not particularly well thought through.

Several hours had passed since the two friends had split up in their search. While Gray was out looking around the town outskirts, Natsu had turned to Magnolia Town. Why that was, he did not know. It did not exactly seem like the place anyone would flee to, but if the guy had been panicked enough he might as well have.

And yet there was still no trace. He could not help but to wonder whether Gray had managed to find anything. The spirit really ought to get a phone or something. That way it would be easier to get in touch when they caught on to something.

But _no_. Spirits just _had _to be old-fashioned.

Snorting at a random pile of snow, Natsu turned his gaze slightly upward. A red-haired woman was standing at the street corner, glancing around with a distressed face. At this time, Erza would usually be busy with her part-time job, which left Natsu wondering what she was doing out there.

Their gazes met which seemed to surprise Erza. Looking to both sides, she crossed the road and went towards Natsu. Had he done something wrong? No, it did not look that way. Erza was probably to distressed to notice anything.

"What are you doing here, Erza? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I was. I left a short while ago." The woman was still glancing around as if she was looking for something particular. After a while, she looked back at Natsu. "You didn't see a man come through here by any chance?"

"What man?" Natsu asked, thoroughly confused. "I've seen lots of guys around. You're looking for someone in particular?"

"Yes. He's sort of tall and I think something's got him scared. I need to find him as fast as possible." Erza sighed as she took another look to the side. "You couldn't have missed him. He's got blue hair and this tattoo on his face, right here."

She slid a finger down across the right side of her face. Natsu could feel a shiver run down his back. That could hardly be called a coincidence.

"Where'd you see him?" Natsu grabbed Erza's arm, surprising her. "C'mon, tell me!"

"A few streets from here, right in front of the Christmas tree in the town square. He ran away when I approached him." Erza frowned, removing Natsu's hand. "Do you know him?"

"Not personally. Gray does. It's important that we find him. He pretty much ran away from us too. Why are you looking for him?"

"He's a good friend of mine I haven't seen in a long time."

Natsu could not hide the surprise he felt from Erza's words. Gray had explained to him that the guy was a powerful spirit so why in the world would Erza know him? Either way, it did not matter. Having her help in the search might be a good idea.

"Got it. Let's try and find him then."

How a guy managed to vanish into thin air was a pure mystery to Natsu. Since the guy was a spirit, they had no footprints to follow whatsoever. He did not even leave any sort of trace behind to be followed. On top of that, Erza had told him he was fast as hell. Would it even be possible to track him down?

But it seemed that all hope was not yet lost.

Having searched through the town and wound up empty-handed, Erza admitted that she knew one last place this person might be though there was only a small chance he had thought of going there. That chance was good enough for Natsu.

And, as it turned out, Erza's guess turned out to be right.

Their destination was an abandoned shack outside the town. It had once been used to store grain during winter, but after the farming industry in the town dwindled, it was left behind.

As they approached the shack, loud noises could be heard. And suddenly, a figure flew straight into a tree and fell to the ground. Natsu stared in dismay as Gray tried to stand up, groaning painfully. Following the spirit's line of vision, he finally saw the man they had been searching for.

He was standing at the entrance to the shack, a horrified expression on his face as he stared at his hands. Natsu too found it baffling. They were literally _glowing_ as if they were tiny suns. Not only that, they were also trembling violently like the rest of him.

"Why don't you come to your senses already?! Listen to me, damn it!"

Gray desperately cried out at the man, but it seemed to have no effect. Instead, the man just fell to his knees in the snow, covering his ears and closing his eyes while shaking his head.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! I told you I don't know anything. Just… just stay away from me!"

"Jellal!"

The man opened his eyes at Erza's voice. Both Natsu and Gray stared her way as well, the latter completely speechless at the sight of the woman. Without any fear to trace in her face, she slowly began to walk towards the man. Natsu wanted to tell her to stop, that it was dangerous, but Erza's determination stopped him. It seemed she knew what she was doing.

"D-don't come closer!"

The man stood up, raising his hands as a warning, but Erza still did not stop. Not even the sudden burst of light next to her face did. Instead she continued forward until she was right in front of the man, staring right into his eyes.

"Calm down, right this instant," she scolded, not blinking even once. All three males were silenced by her aura of authority. "Now, you can start by telling me why you show up now of all times. Do you have any idea how long I waited for you?"

"W-what are you talking about?" The Jellal's eyes were widened in fear of the woman before him. "Who are you?"

"I am Erza. Erza Scarlet." She gently put a hand on his cheek, her stiff expression softening. "The one you made a promise to meet again here 10 years ago, remember?"

"Erza…" Jellal repeated her name, his gaze shifting around as if he was searching for something in his mind. "I… I remember the name and I remember this place but… that's it." He looked back up at Erza before moving to Natsu and Gray in the back. "There's nothing else."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Gray groaned, smacking a hand against his forehead. "_Amnesia_? Really? That's perfect. Just damn perfect." He glared at Jellal resignedly. "How the hell are we ever going to find out what happened to the Yule Spirit now?"

"The Yule Spirit?" Jellal blinked several times, utterly confused by what he was hearing. It really seemed like he had no idea what Gray was talking about. Natsu had to agree with his friend. As it turned out, they had reached another dead end. Unless…

"You know what?" he grinned at Gray, a brilliant idea suddenly appearing before him. "Why don't we get Jellal and Erza to help? Maybe if we manage to find out what happened with the Yule Spirit, Jellal will get his memories back!"

The four of them managed to sit and talk for hours. The boys also managed to get an enormous scolding from Erza for having entered the school at night. However, at the end they worked out a plan.

Jellal agreed to help in their search while Erza offered to try and gather information along with Lucy. That way the whole thing might be over faster than expected. Natsu had to admit that it was reassuring having more people on their side.

Their circle of friends was really starting to grow.

_- December 8__th__ – My old friend_


End file.
